Maha proposes 5% increase in ready reckoner rates in Nashik

NASHIK: Home buyers here may have to pay more from the next financial year as the state government has proposed a marginal hike of 5% in the ready reckoner (RR) rates.

The final decision on the proposal is expected to be taken by the government in the next few days.

Stamp duty is collected from property buyers on the basis of RR rates, which are revised for the financial year and come into effect from April 1.

Government sources close to the development told TOI on Thursday that the state government has proposed an average 5% hike across the city for the 2017-18 fiscal.

“Chief minister Devendra Fadnvis will review the RR rates across the state and finalise the same in the next two-three days,” said an official.

“This year, the government plans to make a marginal hike in the limits of municipal corporations, but there will be a (decent) hike in areas adjoining the boundaries of the city limits. An increase in the RR rates is expected more in rural areas of the state,” said the official.

In the last fiscal, the state government had increased the RR rates between 2% and 20% in various pockets of the city, with an average hike of 10%.

There had been a marginal increase, in the range of 2% to 10%, in the RR rates with an average hike of around 6% in core areas, including the old city and TP-1 and TP-II areas.

Meanwhile, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), Nashik, has urged the state government not to increase the RR rates for the next financial year to bring about stability in the market.

A delegation from CREDAI recently met the IGR and controller of stamps N Ramswami and urged him to keep the RR rates stable this financial year.

Sunil Bhaybhang, immediate past vice-president of CREDAI, Maharashtra, told TOI that the sector is still passing through a phase of recession.

“The demand is yet to pick up. At this juncture, we would like the state government to not change the RR rates. We have already approached the government and urged the officials concerned to keep the rates stable,” he said.

Currently, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is levied at 12 per cent on payments made for under-construction property or ready-to-move-in flats where completion certificate has not been issued at the time of sale.